Doorcheck



Feb. 2, 1932.

T. s. WILLIAMS 1,843,352

DooRcHEcK Filed July l5. 1929 5 /7/(1, 9 .IINVENTOR ATTORNEY Patented Feb. 2, 1932 THOMAS S. WILLIAMS, OF DALLAS, TEXAS n DOORCI-IECK Application. filed July 15, 1929. Serial No. 378,419.

My invention has reference to certain new and useful improvements in door checks, and while designed more particularly for use with screen doors which are ordinarily provided with a spring for closing `the door, I regard my improvedr structure as adaptable for general application including swinging members other than doors which it is desired to check in itsclosing movement by providing a stan tionaryL member uponfthe casing or stationary frame to receive the impact of the check carried on the swinging element.

It is an object of my invention to/mount a cylinder upon the door, preferably upon the upper frame piece of a screen door, mounting the cylinder laterally on the door with its axis parallel with the plane of the door, and its open end facing the inner vertical piece of the door amb, when the door is closed. It is a special object of'my improvement to mount the moving piston adjacent the open end of the cylinder where the piston may receive the inward 'thrust of the stationaryor fixed arm mounted on the casing and lthus tend to drive the piston within the cylinder in a direction nearly parallel with the plane of the door, toward the final movement of the door as it nears the j amb.

It is a further object of my invention to mount my open ended cylinder adjacent the hinge and laterally upon the door7 providing a piston within the cylinder adjacent the open` end thereof and having an outer flat surface to serve as a buffer plate to receive the thrust ofthe outer end of a stationary arm fixed in the door j amb, the cylinder being relatively short compared with the swinging movement of the door and having no projecting parts from either the open or its closed end.

A further object of my invention provides for the use of a cylinder in which the moving piston will operate against a compression spring and pneumatic pressure.

I vfurther provide other improvements in pneumatic pressure therein.

details of construction facilitating mounting of the cylinder upon the door, and of *adjust-4 ment of the force of the spring within the Qther objects and advantages of the in' vention will appear as the description `proceeds, the inventive idea being set forth in the .appended claims, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure l is a plan view of a door and casing and a compression cylinder shown in horizontal section, together with related parts as it would appear in the direction of theLV arrows indicated inthe plane of the line 2 2 of Fig. 1;

Figure 3 is a sectional detail of a modified form of the mounting mechanism cylinder, and Y Figure 4 is a detail end elevation of the cylinder with parts broken away. l'

Like reference numerals will indicate'like parts in the several views. the door 5 hinged at 6 to the door fra1ne7," the door being shown partially closed in full lines in Fig. l. The vdoor will ordinarily be urged to the closed posit-ion by spiral-spring 8 detachably connected to the hooks 9 and 10,V

mounted on the door and door frame, preff v14, is movable .axially as governed vby impulses applied to the surfaces of the piston. On the o uter surface of the piston 13 is attached a circular plate guide member. 15 hav-v ing peripheral flanges 16 which on their outward movement will engage the inturned flange 17 at the open end of the cylinder, and thereby be retained within the latter.

.The outer surface .of the circular member 15 will usually be formed of metal of sufIicient strength to resist wear of af metal arm moved across the same under strong pressure. The main piston 13 will be formed of more or less flexible material, such as leather whose'peripheral flanges 14 will follow thefor the.;

I have illustrated,

. sult `inthe greatest compact relation'of thewall of the cylinder 11 when moved within the same in action quite analogous to the action of a pump piston. 0n the inner surface of the piston 13, opposite the metal plate 15, a follow plate 18 engages the transverse portion of the piston and is positioned within the flange 14. This plate 18 is metallic and will serve to receive the thrust of a. compression spring 19 whose opposite end 2O will engage the apertured head 21 of the cylinder.

The cylinder 11 is mounted laterally upon the door by means of a bracket 22 of L form which, as shown in l? ig. 1, has an inturned arm 23 supporting the wall of the cylinder, and which may be secured to the frame of the door by fasteners such as screws 241. The outer arm 25 of the bracket 22 will besecured to the cylinder head 21 by fasteners such as rivets 26, and will be provided with an apertured centrally positioned conical portion 27 providing. an inner socket 28 to receive loosely therein a valve ball 29 which may cover the opening 30 in such conical portion 27. The head 21 `is also provided with two spaced apertures 31, one being slightly above the other and both arranged opposite the base of the socket 28, for permitting air to escape from the cylinder, and thereby force the ball 29 against the opening 30.

One end of the spring 19 engages the follow plate 18 upon the piston and the opposite end rests against the inner surface of the cylinde'r head 21, so that the spring urges the piston forward to its normal position when relieved from the force of the plunger 36. A screwv 32 is provided which y is inserted through the'arm 25 and may be adjusted in said arm, and in the apertured head 21 to permit varying amount of leakage of air to permit a slower or faster movement of the piston toward the head.

In the form of mounting for the cylinder upon the door, I may use the modified form of bracket shown in Fig. 3, in vwhich the` bracket 33- has an outturned bracket 34 secured to -the door by the same kind of fasteners 211, but whosemounting of the cylinder upon thev bracket is correspondingly modified Inboth these forms of mounting the 4door check, the cylinder lof the check is mountedwi-th its axis parallel to the door itself, andwi-th the open vend of the cylinder 11 facing the doorframe member strip 35, when the door is in its closed position. This modified formof bracket is used for attachment makes feasible thehighly efiicient application of my improved door check which shall recyl-inder 11 and la stationary plunger 36 which :is mounted 0nthe strip L35 and extends into the direct path of axial movement of the piston member 15 as the door nears its closed position, as clearly indicated in Fig. 1.

The plunger 36 is preferably mounted upon the frame strip 35, and may be securely so positioned by insertion of its smaller end, which may be screw-threaded, into the strip, or otherwise attached thereto, leaving the outward-extending end 37 projecting at right angles to the strip 35, to axially engage the metal member 15 of the piston 13. The outer end of the plunger 36 has a roller 38 thereon to provide easy movement along` such surface 15, or a smooth, rounded end thereof may be provided of hardened metal to take the place of the roller.

As the door 5 swings into closed position, as bythe stress of the spring 8, the plate l5 upon the piston 13 will Contact the outer end of the plungerbefore the door is closed, the plunger 36 remaining in rigid position in all positions of the door. As the plunger end strikes the plate, the piston 13 will move toward the apertured head 21 of the cylinder, inner movement of the door tending to compress the air in the cylinder as well as the spring19. lWhen the door reaches its closed position, the piston will have traveled axiallv toward the head 21 at least halfv of' the lengtlrof the penumatic cylinder, and mounting` laterally my cylinder of relati-vely large radius and short length upon the door permits a relatively short stroke of the piston and by the use of a short cylinder. 1t is to be understood that the flanges 16 guide the axial movement of the piston, and brace the latter against oblique movement.

Pneumatic action'of the piston 13 results from leak-proof fastening .of the rivets 26, very slight leakage of the-screw 32 in the plates, and vclosure of the port 30 by the ball 29 under air current from the apertures 31. rl `he normal position of the ball, when not under the force of air pressure, is that nearly covering the lower port 31.

The continuous mounting of the cylinder 11 on the door 5 and moving bodily with it in opening and closing, serves to cause the cylinder to move from or Vapproach the plunger 36, and soprovides the very advantageous mounting of the check cylinder adjacent the '1" door hinge-a relation not requiring relative movement of the check parts over a very large distance. Further, the side mounting of the cylinder 11von the door permitsV the use of such a check of relatively small size,

even having a diameter slightly less than the distance between the door 5 and another parallel withit. rllhis arises from the fact that the length of the check need not occupy the space between thel doors. n"roundedend assumes a different. position on the plate 15, as 'the latter moves at right angles or obliquely to the plunger 36, and this causes movement of the plunger end upon the plate.

The roller 38 31' llt) I/Vhile it is my purpose to mount the cylinder 11 of the check upon the upper end of the door, it is appreciated that it may be mounted on the lower end or on an intermediate transverse bar of the door, but in all cases will be mounted on the inner surface of the door and not very far from the hinge edge of the door. In all cases, I propose to contact the roller 38 by the plate 15 of the plunger, though it is to be understood that any suitable means may be used on the outer end 37 of the plunger, whether a bearing such as the roller 38 or a stationary rounded end on said plunger is in direct contact with said plate.

A further advantage arises from mounting the cylinder on the door rather than on the door frame, and which advantage results from the piston 13 receiving the stationary plunger 36 thereon, and this advantage especially includes the convenience of storing the main part of the check together with the door when the latter is removed from `its frame at the proper season. The door carries the cylinder ll with it when hung or stored. In the latter case, the plunger 36 may remain on the strip 35, or may very readily be removed, if desired Various modifications will suggest themselves which may be utilized without depart ing from the spirit of the invention or sacriiicing any of its advantages, and are contemplated.

I-Iaving thus described and illustrated my invention, what I desire to secure by Letters Patent, is y l. A door check of the class described comprising a pneumatic cylinder having an open end and an apertured closed end mounted on the door, a piston within the cylinder, a buffer spring between the piston and the closed end of the cylinder, a face plate mounted on the piston on the side thereof facing the open end of the cylinder, a support bracket secured to said closed end and the door and having a valve operating in conjunction with said stationary horizontal plunger mounted on the door frame and directed toward said open end to contact said metal surface of the piston nearest the open end to receive the shock of the door, when the door closes.y

3. A door check including a cylinder mounted laterally and horizontally on the door and having an open end and a closed end having` centrally and vertically spaced apertures, a piston movable therein and having metal end surfaces, a compression spring between the piston and said closed end, a rigid support bracket having an arm attached to the door and another arm secured to said closed end and having an apertured cone therein forming an inner socket alining with the apertures of said closed end, a ball seated in said socket and normally by gravitation covering the lower of said vertically arranged apertures, but under air current from the latter induced by abnormal pneumatic pressure in the cylinder, forcing the ball into said socket thereby closing the aperture in the said cone, and a rigid horizontal plunger member mounted on the door frame and extending outward in the direction of the said piston when the door nears its closed position, whereby the lower of said vertical apertures is closed by the ball when the plunger is out of contact with the piston, but the socket aperture is closed when the door is nearly closed.

In witness whereof, I `have hereunto set my hand this 10th day of July A. D. 1929.

T. S. WILLIAMS apertures and a stationary plunger mounted on the door frame and having an outwardly extended end directed toward the open end of said cylinder to contact the said face plate to receive the shock when the door swings to closed position.

2. A door check including a cylinder mounted horizontally and laterally on a door and having an open end and a closed end having vertically arranged apertures, a piston movable therein and having a metal surface facing toward the open end of the cylinder and a metal surface on its opposite side for contact with a spring, a compression spring between the piston and said closed end, a rigid bracket attached to the door and to said closed end and having an apertured cone therein forming an inner ball socket alining with the apertures of said closed end, and a iso ECO 

